Running Tips

THANK goodness it cooled down for the start of the race…118 degrees would have just been nuts 😉

Living in Arizona in the summer is akin to living on the surface of sun. Temperatures routinely hit over 100 degrees for months at a time.

That makes summer running (which also happens to be the start of a lot marathon training schedules) a b*%#! And it also means it is really hard to find any local races and, if you do, they are mostly of the 5K duration and start pre-dawn.

Vertigo Night Trail Run Start/Finish Village

Thank goodness that the Arizona summer months bring several full moons and the Aravaipa Running Insomniac Night Trail Run Series. This is a series of 7 night trail runs in the greater Phoenix area from May to November (and, trust me, it’s still plenty hot in November in Phoenix).

With welcoming names like Sinister, Thrasher, and Punisher this series is an awesome addition to the local summer running calendar.

Last night I ran the Vertigo 31K, my second Insomniac Series race this year.

This trail featured steep inclines, swooping turns, technical descents, and rugged terrain – made all the more challenging by a huge thunderstorm and lots of running water the night before the race. So much running water, the road leading up to the park was closed the night before the race due to flooding!

The start of the race was staggered based on distance with the 52K starting a 7:00pm, followed by the 31K at 7:30pm and the 10K at 8:00pm.

Runners, even trail runners, are only so crazy so the combination of the distances, technical nature of the course, and the fact that it had “cooled down” to a mild 113 degrees by 7:00pm kept the race numbers manageable. This was great, as runners for all distances shared the same 6.5 mile trail loop. It was just enough runners that you didn’t feel like you were out in the middle of nowhere by yourself in the dark – every 10 – 15 minutes you would run by someone/have someone run by you. Add in a great start/finish line village and a remote aid station at mile 4.5 on the loop and it was just peaceful enough to allow you to enjoy the quiet and the stars.

Hot weather tempered my desire to blaze the trails with speed. It was 113 degrees at the start at 7:00pm and still 95 degrees when I finished around 1:00am. Still better than running during the day in full sun (and even hotter temperatures), but not cool by any stretch of the imagination!

See that spike in elevation each mile…ouch!

I took it easy on the first 2 laps, which included a decent stop at the end of the second lap to really rehydrate, take my shoes off for a few minutes to help cool me down (and allow for some blister TLC), and drink something other than G2 and water (HELLO Diet Coke! Where have you been these last 13 miles…).

Me just prior to the start of the race.

There was lots of climbing, lots of loose rocks, and some downhill sections that were more nerve-wracking than the 1-mile up hill switchback section that did NOT get more fun on each loop. The recent rains added some additional rocks and deep sand, but did help with controlling dust.

My last lap ended up being my fastest – I’m chalking this up on the fact that it had “cooled down” a bit, I just wanted to be done, and this was the lap where I saw a RATTLESNAKE on the trail. The turbo boosters kicked in and I just wanted to be away from poisonous things that could bite me!

[NOTE: In the moment I never thought the snake was going to bite me – or any of the other runners in the area. Said snake was just slowly slithering across a wide stretch of the trail, minding his own business. A runner ahead of me clearly saw the snake in plenty of time to avoid it and notify those around. That being said, I spent the final 4 miles of the race on EXTREMELY HIGH SNAKE ALERT (as opposed to my normal High Snake Alert status). A snakebite is just something I would like to avoid – especially one that happens at night, on the side of a mountain.]

Vertigo Night Trail Run by the Numbers:

Race distance: 31k

Trail Loops: 3

Total time: 5:13 (Female winner = 2:45 – insane!)

Sunset: 1

Full moon: 1

Fuel belt bottles of G2: 6

Fuel belt bottles of water: 5

Slices of fresh watermelon: 5

Bean burritos: 1 (on last lap, 2 miles from end of race – I may be crazy, but I’m not stupid…)

My souvenir from the race. Nothing like (literally) “hitting the trails”…

Potty stops: 2 prior to start of race (nerves)/2 during race (surprisingly, none as a result of the bean burrito…)

Falls: 1

Resulting in exactly 1 souvenir black and blue knee

Rattlesnakes: 1

Followed by exactly 1 freak out

Tree roots I thought were rattlesnakes and freaked out for no reason = Too many to count

Scorpions: 1

Toads: 1

Blisters: 4

At the finish, each runner received a race beer glass. The beer garden at the finish benefited Team RWB, which is awesome. Beer for a good cause is a good thing! I still had an hour drive back home and was REALLY hot, so I partook of some excellent ice water in my finisher’s beer glass – it was seriously good – trust me…

The SWAG! The gear bag was received with our bibs in place of a race shirt and the beer glass you earned at the finish line.

2015 Insomniac Night Trail Race Series

I’ll be back out on the trails at the end of this month for another full moon and some more miles.

Our guest blogger is Jessica AKA #TinyTiki. You can follow her on Twitter @TinyTikiRunner

“You’ll be fine…it’s only 3 miles…”

Now that is a sentence I never thought I would say, but let me back up just a bit.

Getting suited up…

The fabulous ladies of Run All The Races are primarily known for two things – their contagious enthusiasm for running and their insanely creative, elaborate costumes at all of the runDisney races. Kimberly and Gail love to make everyone laugh – runners, announcers, spectators, and cast members. Many are amazed at both the intricacy of their costumes and their ability to run in them.

At the 2015 Tinker Bell 5K

I have now run in costume with them twice – as a tiki in runDisney’s Castaway Cay Challenge 5K after Princess Half Marathon Weekend 2015 and as Boo from Monster’s Inc. in the Neverland 5K during Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend 2015. Kimberly and Gail kindly provided everything I needed – all I had to do was run and pose for pictures, which was actually easier said than done. The tiki hat kept wanting to fly off my head and the metal underneath the purple umbrella was an incessant source of pain digging into my scalp. I ran one race holding down my headpiece, the other trying to keep it from touching my head. Thankfully, the purple hamper was quite comfortable. Kimberly and Gail’s tolerance for pain is clearly stronger than mine, as I could not imagine running longer distances in costume. Their love of crafty costumes along with their natural ability to run (both of them are marathoners!) keep them going.

2015 Castaway Cay Challenge 5K

As their roommate during recent runDisney race weekends at Disneyland, I see what no one else sees – all of their hard work behind the scenes. Our room is usually an explosion of glitter, foam, safety pins, electric tape, glitter, wigs, New Balance sneakers, hot glue guns, a sewing machine, a variety of miscellaneous items, and yes, more glitter (Kimberly’s favorite color). One would think they are a collective Mary Poppins – I have never seen so many accessories come out of a suitcase. The nights before races, they stay up late sewing, gluing, pinning, and taping to make sure their costumes are not only ready, but practically perfect and up to their standards. Since they reside on opposite coasts, race weekends are their only chances to put their costumes together as a team. And how about what happens beforehand? Months ahead of time, texts about costume ideas fly back and forth. Orders are placed and packages are shipped to the hotel. Airplane carry-on items are sewing machines and gigantic flowers. Multiple suitcases are filled to the brim with costume pieces.

2015 Star Wars 10K

Running in costume may look glamorous and easy, but it involves a great deal of time and effort (and occasionally pain). Would I run in costume with them again? Absolutely, since I adore their endearing craziness, though only for a 5K. I prefer to run the longer distances for time but I can handle some pain for 3.1 miles for the sake of having a blast with my running sisters, especially after all of their hard work in putting together not only their own costumes but mine as well. Running with them is nothing short of an unforgettable, unique experience.

Do you run in costume? Do you think you could Run All The Races in costume with Perfectly Goofy Gail & Kimberly?

THE jump photo to end ALL jump photos – and my VERY FIRST time running in costume.

What finally made me make the leap?

Last year’s Disneyland Half Marathon was the race where I earned my 50th runDisney medal and I wanted to mark this running milestone with “something different.”

All my previous runs were focused on time – with no room in my race plan for costumes or photo stops. This had worked well for me and I enjoyed racing myself and always striving for a PR – BUT – trolling around on Facebook opened my eyes to another kind of fun on the run…COSTUMES!

Most of these AMAZING costumes were made with technical material!

From Mild to WILD…

I started out mild – the Mad Hatter for the 2013 Disneyland 10K and a Mouseketeer for the 2013 Disneyland Half Marathon. My “costumes” consisted of my normal running shorts and sports bra dressed up with simple pre-made add ons. The Mad Hatter was based around a Raw Threads bamboo technical shirt, an orange tutu, knee socks, and a Mad Hatter headband.

NOTE: This was also my first – and still most EPIC – jumping photo!

The Mouseketeer included a Sparkle Athletic skirt, technical shirt with my first name, and child’s mouse ears (the child’s ears have an elastic strap which, when placed behind my ponytail, made sure they stayed put for the entire race – so much so, I forgot I even had them on…).

MILD is a great “gateway” to begin running in costume.

Like any gateway, I got HOOKED pretty quickly – AND had a number of friends that not only dressed up as well, but were (and continue to be) excellent enablers 😉

A little costuming peer pressure can go a long way…far enough to get your male friend to run in a skirt during the Princess Half Marathon 😉

Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend 5K. Great crochet Tinker Bell hair hat and a tutu so big it had it’s own gravitational pull.

2014 Walt Disneyl World Marathon Weekend Dopey Challenge Day 4…yep – this is exactly how I felt. Having an easy race costume was a great decision for me for this race.

In the matter of year, I ramped up BIG TIME – culminating in the biggest and craziest costume to date during the the 2014 Disneyland 5K. Kimberly was getting HER 50th runDisney medal at the Disneyland Half Marathon and we decided to celebrate her running milestone by going BIG.

We planned the Cheshire Cat and Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland for the Disneyland 5K, Alice in Wonderland Card Soldiers with our running pals Rebecca and Pammy for the Disneyland 10K, and Dumbo and the Circus Master for the Disneyland Half Marathon.

runDisney Tweeted our photo at the Disneyland 5K finish line, interviewed us for the Disneyland 10K race recap video, and we made the office runDisney race album on Facebook for the Disneyland Half Marathon.

WILDcan be AWESOME – as long as you take race length and temperature into consideration.

Tips for a Successful Race Costume:

Take the race length and temperature into consideration. [Shorter race and/or cooler temperatures = the chance to ramp up the costume!]

If you are traveling, think about the logistics of getting your costume to the race location. [I had to search for smaller hula hoops for my Cheshire Cat so 1 would fit in my suitcase and 1 would fit in the airplane overhead bin :D]

Take what race you are running into consideration. [runDisney races brings LOTS of people in costumes. Some other races – not so much. Determine your comfort level being dressed up on the run.]

Take your completed costume out for a trial run. [Make sure all the parts stay on when you are running and NOTHING rubs you the wrong way]

Think outside the box. [Doing a little research about secondary characters can enable you to have a unique costume and stand out among many Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Anna and Elsa outfits]

Race costumes can be awesome whether they are mild or wild. [Don’t not run in costume just because you don’t want to go huge – subtle can be just as wonderful and memorable as crazy.]

Great costumes can be had even if you are not a seamstress. [There are lots of companies that make costume pieces in technical material and cater specifically to runners – including those that do not sew and/or don’t have time to make something themselves]

HAVE FUN with it! [If you are going to run in costume, bring some fellow dressed up friends, take photos to commemorate your crazy, and enjoy the run!]

We have some great stuff planned for the Tower of Terror 10-Miler Weekend races! Keep an eye out for some “happy haunts” as we “stretch” our costuming skills…

Check out the rest of the AMAZING posts that are part of our Virtual Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler Weekend Blog Hop HERE.

**************************************************************Have you run a race in costume? We’d LOVE to see your photos!

Kimberly, Gail, Rebecca, and Pam at the finish of the 2014 Enchanted 10K [this photo made the runDisney official race photo album]

We here at #RunAllTheRaces will NEVER deter you from running a runDisney race, however – that being said – our goal is to ensure that you have the information YOU need to make the most of your running budget and your runDisney runCation!

To this end, we have taken it upon ourselves to #RunAllTheDisneyRaces so we can provide you with first-hand advice. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!

While Perfectly Goofy Gail and soon to be Delightfully Dopey Kimberly are not Perfect Princesses [meaning a person that has run EVERY Princess Half Marathon since the inaugural event], we have run a combined total of over 90 runDisney races and have 100+ runDisney medals between us. That gives us plenty of experience and insight into how to rock a race at Walt Disney World.

Just in time for the next runDisney race registration date, in this post we will share our tips and tricks for a royally successful Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend.

Eddie is the prettiest Princess of them all – and we have the on-course photo to prove it!

Do You Want to be a Princess? Determine if this is the right race for you. Not all runDisney weekends are the same. Yes, Disney’s Princess Half Marathon weekend races share the EXACT SAME COURSES as January’s Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend events, however, that is where the comparisons stop. Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend is a FEMALE-FOCUSED weekend where the costumes, the participants, and the course theme all celebrate PRINCESS POWER. Not to say that there aren’t a fair share of Princes running, but during this particular race, men are not permitted to start in the first corral and the overall winner of the race must be female.

If the slipper fits? Decide who’s running. Fortunately or unfortunately, Princess Weekend falls on the last weekend of February – this may or may not be during school break.

No, seriously, we dress like this EVERY day…

Know when and how to register for your chosen event(s): Not only does runDisney host a Half Marathon during Princess Half Marathon weekend, but there is also a 5K, a 10K, and Kids Races. Runners can also choose to register for the Glass Slipper Challenge – which combines both the 10K with the Half Marathon. You can take a look at the race details online at runDisney. NOTE: Runners wanting to complete the Glass Slipper Challenge should register for the Glass Slipper Challenge ONLY. Those runners that register for both the 10K and Half Marathon separately will not earn the challenge medal (and you NEVER want to not get EXTRA BLING). Early registration will open for both Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Member on Wednesday, July 9th at 12pm EST. Registration links will be available on the member pages only. General registration will open on Tuesday, July 15th at 12pm EST at runDisney online. For additional registration tips click here.

Your Castle or Mine? Deciding whether you’ll be staying in a Walt Disney World resort or an off-property location can be more difficult that running the actual race! Both options are good and depend not only on your budget, but what experience you are looking for. To take a look at all the resort options Walt Disney World has to offer, click here. Thinking about staying off-property? Consider a “Good Neighbor” resort, generally located on Hotel Resort Boulevard – down the road from Disney Village Marketplace. “Good Neighbor” options include: Best Western, DoubleTree Suites, Hilton, Holiday Inn, and Wyndham [Got points?]. And, if you’re looking for the ULTIMATE PRINCESS EXPERIENCE, consider relaxing after your royal race on a DISNEY CRUISE!

Golf cart full of crazy during the 2014 Walt Disney World Princess Half Marathon.

Be Our Guest: You can begin making your Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) 180 days out from your arrival date – and we suggest you GET ON IT. Many favorites fill up FAST, such as Be Our Guest in the Magic Kingdom, character meals, and dinner shows. Research all your dining options (and there are a ton) and make online reservations here.

Planes, Trains , Automobiles, Coach or Carriage? The closest airports to Walt Disney World are Orlando International Airport (OIA) and Orlando Sandford International Airport (SFB). When you reserve Disney’s Magical Express and arrive at Orlando International Airport, you can begin your vacation the moment you step off the plane. Bypass baggage claim and avoid the inconvenience and cost of driving or finding ground transportation. With this special benefit of staying at select Disney Resort hotels, get from the airport to your accommodations in comfort and have your bags delivered directly to your room. You’ll also enjoy a complimentary ride back to Orlando International Airport on the day you check out of your Disney Resort hotel. Please note that pets are not permitted on Disney’s Magical Express but service animals are. Luggage delivery service is available for flights arriving between 5:00 AM and 10:00 PM daily. Your luggage will travel separately, and it may take up to 3 hours after you arrive at your Disney Resort hotel for your luggage to be delivered to your room. You need to pack any valuables, medications or anything you need immediately upon your arrival in Orlando in a carry-on bag—and have your MagicBand with you and easily accessible at the airport and when you arrive at your Disney Resort hotel. You do not need to be in your room to receive your luggage. You need to make a reservation for Disney’s Magical Express when you make your Disney Resort hotel reservation online or over the phone. If your flight arrives before 5:00 AM or after 10:00 PM, you will need collect your luggage at baggage claim to bring with you on the motorcoach. Please note: Disney’s Magical Express service does not provide luggage-only transfer. You must be present on the motorcoach to have your luggage transported to a Disney Resort hotel. Once on property (and if you stay at a “Good Neighbor” hotel) there are a host of transportation options to all Walt Disney World locations including buses, boats, and the monorail.

No Tickey, No Mickey: While theme park tickets are NOT required in order to runDisney, if you want to spend time in the parks after your run, you will need to purchase a ticket. Walt Disney World has a ticket option for any budget and include options such as 1-Day/1-Park to Multi-Day/Multi-Park Park Hopper (which allows you to visit multiple parks on the same day), and Annual Passes. NOTE: If you plan to party at the theme parks, we suggest planning the time AFTER your race, so you have fresh legs for your run around the World.

Sleeping Beauty and Mary Poppins run through Epcot during the 2014 Walt Disney World Enchanted 10K.

Look like a Princess: Costumes at a runDisney event can be a lot of fun. If you’ve never ran in costume before, give it try during the 5K or 10K. These are easier distances to run dressed up, but you still get the fun photo-ops along the course. Lots of companies provide easy costume options if you can’t or don’t want to sew your own. We love Sparkle Skirts [sparkly skirts, arm warmers, wings, and schwings], Raw Threads [themed bamboo shirts and skirts], Harvester Products [kick-ass crochet hats], and Etsy [anything else you can dream up].

Good thing Dave had that buff fairy to help stop that train…

Party like a Princess: runDisney sponsors the Happily Ever After Party at Downtown Disney® on Sunday, after the Half Marathon. Participants can enjoy delicious food, great music, and get a chance to pick up some last minute keepsake merchandise to remember the weekend. Admission to the Happily Ever After Party at Downtown Disney® is open to race participants, their guests, and the public. And if you are like us and like to party with a runner friend, you can run any of the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend races as a member of a TEAM. Team registration is a fun way to compete in the Princess Half Marathon Weekend with added perks for each princess on your team. Team registration is $10.00 per team member and includes Commemorative Team Bib, Commemorative Team Item (has been a Miss America-type sash in the past), and a Team Photo area at Packet Pick-Up. NOTE: Teams can only be created after both individuals have registered and paid for the 5K, 10K, Half Marathon or Glass Slipper Challenge. This is not a relay – both participants must run the entire race. You must be a registered participant of one of the Princess Half Marathon Weekend races to participate in the race. A team registration does not qualify as a registration for the event.

Feel like a Princess: Not much feels as good after a long run than having someone pamper you by rubbing your legs and feet. Walt Disney World has a number of spa options. Most on-property resorts have fitness rooms and the opportunity to book a massage or facial. If you are looking for a deluxe spa experience, consider booking a service at Sense – A Disney Spa at Disney’s Grand Florida Resort or Senses Spa at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort. To schedule treatments, please call (407) WDW-SPAS or (407) 939-7727 as far in advance as possible. Reservations are highly recommended.

Our first Runner’s World Cover…we’re kinda a big deal (at least in our own minds…)!

#RunAllTheRaces
#GetAllTheBling

Golf cart full of crazy during the 2014 Walt Disney World Princess Half Marathon.

Stop running and take a photo? Sure (we’re up for ANY reason to take a break)!
Alison Jakeman Nicklas, Perfect Goofy Gail, the Heartbreak Hill Running Company Gorilla (he was out BOTH days cheering us on), Kimberly, and Pamela Potter Frost.